The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proposing to demolish the Edmund's House/Glencoe Station (B4-0546) located at 15512 Home Road at Gunpowder Falls State Park, in Baltimore County, Maryland. The station is located just north of Glencoe Road in Glencoe, between Sparks and Monkton along the present-day Northern Central Rail Trail.

This structure dates from ca. 1860 (some sources say 1856) and was a train station on the Northern Central Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad. A separate standard PRR freight station later supplemented, and then replaced, the original station. In the mid-20th century the original station was moved from its original location and converted into a residence. It is located within the flood plain and experiences frequent severe flooding, most recently in 2010, and it has been vacant since then. The structure was recently determined to be eligible for the National Register. Preservation as a rail station trail stop would be redundant to the already-preserved Monkton station just to the north. A severe mold problem has been reported in the vacant structure.

As part of the mitigation process for the demolition, the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has requested that DNR solicit comments from the public and investigate any possible ways to avoid, reduce, or mitigate this adverse effect on the historic property. Comments, either by email or letter, would be appreciated by January 15, 2016. Comments or questions may be e-mailed to charles dot mazurek at maryland dot gov or phoned to 410 -260 -9932. Postal letters may be sent to Charles N. Mazurek, Md. DNR, Tawes State Office Building, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401.

For a vintage engraving depicting this house-like structure, see page 50 of "The Story of the Northern Central Railway" by Robert L. Gunnarsson (1991). Forwarded by Alexander D. Mitchell IV Baltimore, MD

As a result of a rare meeting of the minds by folks with potentially disparate interests, the 160-year-old Glencoe Train Station was granted a reprieve from demolition earlier this year and is slated to be disassembled and rebuilt in White Hall.

The building on Home Road in Gunpowder Falls State Park, just north of Glencoe Road in Glencoe, that once served the Northern Central Railroad line between Baltimore and York, Pa., was likely to be razed by its owner, the state Department of Natural Resources, until preservationists, politicians, community members and a government agency came together just in a nick of time.

The move would allow the building, which has been vacant since a flood in 2010 and has deteriorated into an eyesore, to remain close to the Torrey C. Brown Trail, formerly known as the Northern Central Railroad Trail.

Instead of squabbling, people who held the fate of the old station in their hands responded by making a decision that was satisfying to all sides.

It all began when Trish Bentz, the executive director of the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County, noticed on a website that a petition had been signed by 50 people from communities close to the station demanding that the structure, also known as Edmund's House, be torn down.

The petition's proponent, Kevin McCaughey, was opposed to spending taxpayers' money to restore the building at its current site. On the other hand, the alliance was still hoping to find a way to save a structure that was already nearly a decade old when President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train passed by on its journey to Springfield, Ill.

"We had several meetings at the site which included Maryland State Dels. Susan Aumann and Chris West, Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach, McCaughey and several interested community members to attempt to find a common ground solution that would still preserve the historic station," Bentz said.

Bentz said that the group mulled over a variety of options.

"To restore the station in its current location would not be a prudent solution as it is in a flood plain which is active several times a year," she said. "Elevating the structure to avoid water damage would take the building out of context as a station. Demolishing it [andtaking it] to the landfill was not a preferred solution, either."

Bentz then put out feelers on a website to see if anyone was interested in tearing down the station and rebuilding it elsewhere.

It didn't take long for them to get a response from Millstone Cellars owner Curtis Sherrer, who crafts artisanal hard ciders and mead at his operation in Monkton.

"I'm interested in history," said Sherrer, 56, a Dulaney High School grad whose bottled libations are distributed regionally and as far away as California and New York. "I'm doing it to save the station, not to make a buck. It should be a fun thing to do, but it's going to take a while. As long as it's not too much of a burden, I'll do it. But the devil's in the details." If Sherrer's plan is approved, the preservation alliance said it will help recruit volunteers to help with some of the grunt work.

Part of the deal is waiting for the DNR to issue a Request for Proposal, which is an open competitive bidding process.

The DNR must field other offers, if any are forthcoming, from the general public for a 30-day period in order to give anyone else interested a chance to tackle the project.

DNR spokeswoman Karis King said earlier this month that the RFP could be posted as early as this week.

Sherrer said that if there are no unforeseen complications and he can get started in April, the building can be torn down by November. The rebuilding time is less definite.